Known methods of measuring the diffusion rate of a given analyte into a polymer film involve the use of Attenuated Total Reflectance Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR). Such methods using an ATR-FTIR system have a number of shortcomings including, but not limited to, (1) high equipment costs, (2) an overlap of spectral absorbances of the analyte and the polymer tested, and (3) a conventionally accepted degree of sensitivity.
What is needed in the art is a method of measuring the diffusion rate of an analyte into a polymer, which overcomes one or more of the above-described shortcomings of known methods, such as methods using an ATR-FTIR system. What is needed in the art is a method of measuring the diffusion rate of a given analyte into a polymer film, wherein the method has at least one of: (1) lower equipment costs, (2) elimination of the overlap of spectral absorbances of the analyte and the polymer tested, and (3) a greater degree of sensitivity compared to methods using an ATR-FTIR system.